Airlines Rush to Change Cockpit Rules in Wake of Germanwings Disaster

Deutsche Lufthansa AG, parent company of Germanwings, is not among them—yet

European officials are considering new cockpit rules after the Germanwings crash that killed 144 passengers.

Preliminary information reveals that pilot Andreas Lubitz locked the captain out of the cockpit and then intentionally crashed the plane. The new regulations would require two people in the cockpit at all times, whether two pilots or a pilot and a flight attendant.

These rules are already in effect in the United States, but were recently taken up by the United Kingdom and Canada in the wake of the Germanwings news. In addition, individual airlines—including Air Berlin PLC, Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, and Emirates Airlines—are putting in two-in-the-cockpit rules now. Deutsche Lufthansa AG, which runs Germanwings, is not among them, saying it is keeping in place rules that allow one pilot to temporarily leave the cockpit.

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As the Wall Street Journal points out, many of the current cockpit security regulations were put in place after the September 11 attacks, including the more secure cockpit doors which allowed Lubitz to lock out the captain.